The story of HTC is nothing short of amazing. From a little OEM company that developed phones for other companies to a complete powerhouse of a manufacturer and heavyweight in the smartphone industry in 10 short years–it’s simply incredible the growth that HTC has shown. In 2008, one in six smartphones in the US were built by HTC. How did this Taiwanese company become so relevant, so fast?
Wired examines the history of HTC and showcases its plan for the future. In the past, they made the right bets (on Android) and did a great job with design and in the future, they’ll continue to build their brand and globalize their company. Here’s our choice nuggets from the story:
- “When we started to work with Google, we had no visibility at all,” says Wang. “The (Android) platform probably would not even materialize and even if it did, it could be just another one in the market. But we shared the excitement.”
- Over the next three years, it will spend $1 billion to create a new R&D facility near a Taipei suburb.
- Personalization will be another big trend, “I firmly believe that the phone you have should never look like the phone I have,” he says.”If you love stocks and financial news that’s what your phone should show. But if I am interested in Hello Kitty and manga then my phone should reflect that.”
- “Brand value is like respect, you have to earn it,” he says. “You can’t buy respect. You can spend all the money you want to build the recognition but that doesn’t mean anything. I want the HTC brand to stand for a great experience.”
The whole story is worthy of a read even with some factual oddities (Sense on the Motorola Cliq, HTC Tattoo on Verizon? Huh?) that we’ll begrudgingly excuse because HTC deserves all the accolades and acclaim they’re receiving. HTC undoubtedly makes great products and we’re glad to see the little company that could become a powerhouse in the industry. Now if HTC can follow up the Hero with the Nexus One ASAP, we’ll love them even more.
[wired]